Sunday, August 23, 1998
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N A T I O N |
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spotlight today's calendar |
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Cong to step in if govt
falls: Sonia |
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Left flays pro-rich
policies
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Kumud Khaitan's murder case
solved |
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Cong to step in if govt falls: Sonia GUWAHATI, Aug 22 (PTI) — The Congress president Mrs Sonia Gandhi said today that her party was ready to take over if the BJP-led government at the Centre "falls because of its own contradictions". "We are not going to do anything to pull down this government but we are ready to take over if the government falls because of its own contradictions", Mrs Gandhi told newsmen here at a breakfast meeting. To queries on the party taking the Left parties’ support for forming a government despite the Left being critical of the Congress, she said, "in politics all sorts of things are said. Things have changed now". Mrs Sonia Gandhi said that although a coalition government was at the Centre "at the moment, it may change in the future to one party rule". "We would work towards a single-party rule", said Mrs Sonia Gandhi. On the eventuality of AIADMK leader Jayalalitha imposing any conditions when asked for her support by the Congress to form a government, the Congress president said: "The question of imposing conditions does not arise". To a question how long the BJP-led government would last, she said: "can’t say how long this government would last". To a question if breakaway Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee would be brought back to the Congress fold, she said, "all those who were with us are our friends". Commenting on the flood situation in Assam after visiting some of the affected areas in Kamrup district yesterday, she said "the flood situation is very painful and pitiable". She regretted that she had to miss one of the flood-hit areas on her agenda due to "some security problem". Addressing party workers, she attacked the Vajpayee Government for the rise in prices and deterioration in the law and order situation, adding that it was "beyond our tolerance". Reading out her speech in Hindi, the Congress president accused the AGP-led government in Assam of being "worthless (and) allowing all-round chaos". The government was "bogged down with internal bickerings", she said. Describing the situation
in the state as "deplorable" with no peace or
development, she said corruption was on the rise and the
law and order situation was deteriorating fast. |
Left flays pro-rich policies NEW DELHI, Aug 22 (PTI) — The CPM today charged the BJP-led coalition with launching "vicious attacks" on the lives of the common people by its pro-rich economic policies and mismanagement. The party, whose two-day central committee meeting concluded yesterday, accused the government of "completely exposing itself as one upholding the interests of U.S. imperialism" by "endorsing the brazen military attacks in Sudan and Afghanistan." In a statement issued after the meeting, the CPM demanded "strict action against all those named guilty of instigating the worst communal riots that rocked Mumbai following the Babri Masjid demolition." Denouncing the Maharashtra Government’s decision to reject the Srikrishna report, the party said "this is the first time in India that a report of a commission of inquiry has been summarily rejected." On the US missile attacks on Sudan and Afghanistan, it said the central committee "strongly denounced the endorsement given by the BJP-led government to US imperialism’s brazen military attacks." "India over the past half a century has firmly opposed all imperialist military interventions that violate the sovereignty of independent nations. The BJP-led government has thoroughly and completely exposed itself as one upholding the interests of US imperialism, violating the overwhelming anti-imperialist sentiments of the Indian people," it said. The CPI general secretary Mr A.B. Bardhan, told mediapersons at Kannur that the Left parties would soon meet to discuss the possibility of extending support to the Congress to form an alternative government in the event of collapse of the BJP-led coalition. Mr Bardhan said: "It is quite likely that the BJP government will fall any day now". The fall would be of its own making as the Opposition parties were not planning to bring it down, he claimed. The Left parties were of the view that they should support the Congress to form a secular government at the Centre. The Congress had responded positively to the Left parties’ offer by stating that it would not shirk its reponsibility once the BJP government fell, he said. Mr Bardhan said the
Leftists’ sole concern was that the country was not
forced to another mid-term poll if the BJP government
fell. |
Laloo: raid a bad precedent PATNA, Aug 22 (PTI) — RJD President Laloo Prasad Yadav today charged Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee and Union Home Minister L.K. Advani with having entered into "a sinister and mutually beneficial deal with biased CBI Joint Director U.N. Biswas" for the raid on the Bihar Chief Minister’s official residence. The raid on the Bihar Chief Minister’s residence yesterday was an "insult heaped on the people of Bihar," he said here. Mr Vajpayee and Mr Advani entered into a quid pro quo deal with Mr Biswas as part of which the Centre did not move the Supreme Court against his exoneration by the Calcutta High Court in seeking the Army’s help to arrest me ... Mr Biswas returned the favour by raiding the CM’s premises," he alleged at a press conference. The former Chief Minister said he along with Rashtriya Loktantrik Morcha President Mulayam Singh Yadav made "several futile attempts" to contact the Prime Minister to "warn him against setting such a bad precedent which may one day lead to the police raiding the Prime Minister’s house". On reports that he had contacted Union Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha to seek his help before the raids, Mr Yadav retorted "what sort of help could Mr Sinha have extended when the matter did not concern the Finance Ministry". He charged that the timing of CBI raids "smacked of a sinister ploy to prejudice the Supreme Court" on the day it was to hear his application seeking the quashing of the July 2 trial court order asking him to surrender in another conspiracy angle case of the fodder scam. The apex court had yesterday extended till September 11 the stay on his and former CM Jagannath Mishra’s arrest. Charging union ministers and Samata Party leaders George Fernandes and Nitish Kumar with having received "tainted money" from "scamsters" he said the RLM would press for the constitution of a joint parliamentary committee to probe the allegations and claimed these had been levelled by havala agent and a prime accused Dipesh Chandak recorded under Section 164 of the Prevention of Corruption Act before a Dhanbad Magistrate. Mr Yadav alleged the raids were designed to "prepare the ground" for imposition of President’s rule on the state. NEW DELHI: The Congress on Saturday described as "political vengeance" the CBI raid, saying that it was aimed at "destabilising" Rabri Devi Government. "There have been consistent attempts by the allies of the BJP to seek the imposition of President's rule on Bihar and some other states on a selective basis," party spokesperson Girija Vyas said here in a statement. She said Friday's raid by
the CBI in connection with the disproportionate assets
case against former Bihar Chief Minister Laloo Prasad
Yadav was "yet another attempt to destabilise the
state government." "While the law must take its
own course", the party demanded "there should
not be any political vendetta or witch-hunting". |
AIADMK MP flays Karunanidhi CHENNAI, Aug 22 (UNI) — A function, organised here in connection with the inauguration of the Tambaram-Tiruchirapalli broad gauge line by Railway Minister Nitish Kumar, was marred with AIADMK MP P. Rajaratnam accusing Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi of betraying the state’s interests and ruling DMK workers and state ministers taking exception to it. Tempers ran high with some state ministers and workers of the ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) and the Tamil Maanila Congress (TMC) shouting down and gesticulating at Mr Rajaratnam, who charged Mr Karunanidhi, the chief guest at the function, with compromising the state’s interests on several issues, including 69 per cent reservation, the Sethusa-mudhram project and making Tamil an official language. The appeal by Mr Karunanidhi and BJP leader and Union Power Minister Rangarajan Kumara-mangalam to the agitated ministers and workers to remain calm fell on deaf ears. TMC worker Adaikalam threw his shawl on the dais and several DMK workers, seated in the rear rows, tried to shout down the AIADMK MP, who alleged the DMK government had a narrow outlook in respect of the state’s demands. Mr Rajaratnam’s
speech came to an abrupt end as the public address system
was switched off at the instance of DMK legislator M.A.
Vaithilingam. |
Kumud Khaitan's murder case
solved NEW DELHI, Aug 22 — With the arrest of a suspect, the Delhi police claim to have worked out the murder case of Ms Kumud Khaitan, member of the well-known Khaitan business family. Ms Khaitan was found murdered in her Defence Colony house in South Delhi yesterday. She was stabbed to death. She also bore strangulation marks on her neck. An amount of Rs 2 lakh was reportedly missing from the house, suggesting robbery as the motive of the crime, the police said. The examination crime site pointed towards the involvement of insiders. Thereafter a domestic servant of the Khaitan family Ashok was interrogated who admitted to have committed the murder along with a relative Sanjit. During interrogation, the two disclosed they had gained entry into the house at 1 a.m. when Ms Kumud was out for a walk. She returned at about 1.30 a.m. locked the house from inside. The suspects were in the drawingroom. When Ms Kumud went to check the balcony door of the guestroom she was overpowered and strangulated. Thereafter, Ashok slit her throat with a kitchen knife. The two took away a polythene bag containing Rs 2 lakh and escaped from the back door. Ashok later came back to
the residence of the deceased and went to sleep. |
ED chief's transfer not under pressure: Fernandes MUMBAI, Aug 22 (PTI) — Defence Minister and Samata Party President George Fernandes said today Enforcement Director M.K. Bezbaruah's transfer was "not effected due to any pressure or at anybody's behest" and decried the attempts to implicate AIADMK leader Jayalalitha in the matter. Mr Fernandes, who addressed the first biannual meeting of the recently floated Maharashtra State Electricity Board (MSEB) Workers Union here, said that Mr Bezbaruah's transfer was not an isolated case and was part of a batch of transfers carried out without pressure. "The Petroleum Secretary has been shifted to defence production and an Additional Secretary in the Defence Ministry has been moved too", Mr Fernandes noted while trying to play down the controversy over Mr Bezbaruah's transfer. Mr Fernandes, however, parried queries about Ms Jayalalitha's corruption charges against senior BJP leader and Prime Minister's former Political Adviser Pramod Mahajan and if the Samata Party would give a clean chit to the latter. Replying to a query, Mr
Fernandes said there was no proposal before the
coordination committee of coalition partners for dropping
the Jayalalitha-led AIADMK from the BJP-led government. |
AIFUCTO stir to be intensified NEW DELHI, Aug 22 — The All- India Federation of University and College Teachers’ Organisation (AIFUCTO) is planning to intensify its agitation since no settlement has been reached on the pay hike issue till now. The national executive committee of AIFUCTO will meet here on Monday to decide on the future course of action. The strike by university and college teachers continued for the 12th day today and there were no signs of settlement between the government and university teachers. Academic work in colleges
and universities remained disrupted due to the strike. An
AIFUCTO member claimed the strike was total. |
| In
brief 4 NLFT militants arrested Critical care
package developed CBI raids rail
ticket offices Ex-envoy to Qatar
dies TDP functionary
killed Jaipur
traders’ bandh partial |
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